Thursday, April 10, 2014

UPDATE: Fleur de Lys

It was less than two weeks ago that word spread across the property gossip globe that after half a dozen year on and off the market couture collecting divorcée Suzanne Saperstein sold her fearlessly ostentatious Los Angeles estate known as Fleur de Lys to a still mysterious buyer for a heart stopping and record busting $102,000,000.

Now comes word via the L.A. Times that the new owner—identified in the property gossip columns as a French billionaire even as some speculate might actually be L.A.-based junk bond billionaire Michael Milken—has put the elegant if pretentiously palatial chateau up for long-term lease at $400,000 per month plus an elephantine $1 million security deposit just in case the tenants scratch up the antique floors or put a hole in the gilt-trimmed paneling.

All together the estate—main manse, pool house, staff quarters, caretaker's house, etc.—has about 50,000 square feet of lavish living space on nearly five fastidiously manicured acres.

14 comments:

$400k isn't a bad deal for this. The tenant will probably be a billionaire with an annual income of at least $50m. The rent would be only 10$ of their income. How many of us get to spend only 10% of our gross on housing. They could have this place, plus 3 or 4 other places around the world and still only pay 30% of their gross on housing. I wonder if the price includes furnishings, maintenance and staffing? High living for low risk. This could be very attractive to someone like a Hearst who, famously, has a generous allowance but can't touch the principal.

Hey 'Anonymous' - Check your math before you throw the term 'idiot' around. A 5% normalized rate of return after inflation and tax is about the best a billionaire (or anyone else) can hope for. Plus, 400k is not ten percent of 50m - 12 x 400k is 10% of 50m. West Bourne is correct - and you are an idiot.